Boys Will Be Boys
by showtunediva
Summary: Short vignettes from the viewpoint of the male Warbucks/Farrell cousins and also Harry Pugh and Frederick Warbucks
1. Meeting Annie and Molly

**Boys Will Be Boys**

**A Series of Vignettes about the Male Cousins of the Warbucks and Farrell Families**

**Chapter 1 Meeting Annie and Molly**

**Eli's reaction to finding out about Annie and Molly**

Most of the Annie stories I have written largely focus on Annie's relationship with Molly and all of her female cousins. The male cousins are not explored very deeply so I figured I would go into depth with them a little more. The male cousins are Jacob Farrell (age 12 at the end of Holiday Memories, age 16 at the end of New Beginnings) , Christopher Farrell ( Age 7 at the end of Holiday Memories, Age 11 at the end of New Beginnings) , Eli Warbucks (Age 13 at the end of Holiday Memories age 17 at the end of New Beginnings), Patrick Warbucks ( Age 14 at the end of Holiday Memories, age 18 at the end of New Beginnings) and Jonathan Warbucks ( Age 9 at the end of Holiday Memories, age 13 at the end of New Beginnings) . Other characters created in subsequent stories were Larry Bennett (age 12 at the end of HM, age 15 at the end of NB), the son of Annie's birth father's brother, Harry Pugh (7 at the end of HM, 11 at the end of NB) Mrs. Pugh's grandson and Frederick Warbucks (5 at the end of HM, 8 at the end of NB) Oliver and Grace's twin son. These characters were created with Mandalcious for our collaborations **Cousins** and **Holiday Memories**. I own **NO** rights to characters from Annie.

Hi I'm El Warbucks. I just turned nine. I live in Queens with my mom dad and older sister who is two and a half years older than me. She just turned eleven in April. The other day the registry of deeds called my dad on the phone. He came back to the dinner table looking very excited.

"What's going on honey?" Mom asked

"I just got the greatest news! Remember how all these years I thought my older brother was dead?"

My mom nodded. "He isn't?"

"Far from it. He's a billionaire and he lives in Manhattan. He has a wife , two adopted daughters and a twin son and daughter who are about a year and half old."

Isabella smiled. "What great news Daddy! How old are our cousins?"

"They're around you age. Annie the older one is turning 14 in a few weeks on October 28th and Molly is a few years younger than you Bell. She's turning nine the week before Thanksgiving."

"When will we get to meet them?" I asked

"Are you two able to come with us on Friday to Uncle Oliver's and Aunt Grace's?"

"Yeah!" I said.

"I don't know. I might have a field hockey party to go to." Isabella looked sad.

Mom squeezed her hand. " Don't worry sweetheart. If you can't come with us we'll try to have Molly and Annie over here sometime soon."

"Sounds great Mom. We can't wait to meet them."

"Gene, are your sister and brother in law aware of this news?"

My dad shrugged. " I don't think so. I'll have to call Gloria and let her know. They should definitely come to New York soon to see Oliver again."

I smiled. " That would be great Dad. It seems like we're always going to Quincy to see them but they've never been up here to see us. It would be great if they could come to Uncle Oliver's"

Isabella nodded. "Yeah, we don't really get to see them too much. Hopefully now that Uncle Oliver is back in the picture we'll be able to see all our cousins more consistently."

Mom kissed Bella on the forehead. "I certainly can't wait to meet them. I'm sure you four will get along so well."

Saturday morning Dad went to pick up Bella up from her field hockey sleepover. We got into the jeep at 9:30 to go drive to Shelley's house.

"How was dinner at Uncle Oliver's and Aunt Grace's Dad?" I ended up going to the movies with my friends at the last minute and couldn't go.

My dad smiled widely. "It was so great to see your uncle again and catch up with him after all these years. How would you two like to go to the beach with Uncle Oliver Aunt Grace Annie and Molly this summer?"

I grinned "That would be great! Are we going to visit Aunt Gloria and Uncle Rich in Quincy?"

Dad shook his head. "No. Uncle Oliver wants to go on a day trip to the Hamptons. I'll definitely try to see if Aunt Gloria Uncle Rich Pat and Jon can stay up here that weekend. It would be nice if we could all go the beach together as a family."

In June it was Annie's 8th grade graduation. Uncle Oliver had a huge barbecue at the mansion. All of Annie's friends from the orphanage and friends from school were there as well as her cousins on Aunt Grace's side of the family and her the kids of Annie's birth father's brother Margaret and Larry.

"Hey Eli, come sit with us." Annie's cousin Jacob said. He was sitting at a table with Annie's cousin Chris and Larry Bennett.

"Okay. I followed him over to their table.

"So what grade are you in?" Jacob asked me once we all sat down.

"I swallowed a bite of hot dog. "I'll be in 4th grade in September. My sister will be in 5th grade. She's the same age as Molly. How old are you?"

Jacob smiled. "I'm 9. I'll be in 4th grade this year too. So will Larry. Chris is in 2nd grade so he's the youngest. My sister Katie is 12. She's a year and half younger than Annie so she'll be 13 in March and going into 8th grade."

"I can't believe how close to each other we all are in age." I said.

Jacob smiled. "Yeah I know. It's pretty great isn't it? How old are your cousins who live in Massachusetts?"

"The same age as me and Bella. I hope you'll get to meet them soon. They couldn't come to the party today."

"Who knows? Aunt Melissa Uncle Alex and Chris live in Cambridge. Maybe we can all go to Massachusetts and stay at their house and go to Quincy to go visit them and go to the beach."

"I'd have to talk to my dad about that but that would be really fun."

"Do you play sports?" I asked.

Jacob nodded. "Yeah. I play lacrosse and soccer and Larry runs cross country. Chris won't start playing sports until next year. How about you?"

"I don't play any sports right now but I think I might play basketball next year. I play saxophone in the band."

Larry smiled " I play the saxophone too. We should play together sometime."

"That would be so much fun."

I was so happy to be meeting my new cousins. I am looking forward to the memories I will have with them.


	2. Holiday Tim,e

**Holiday Time**

**Harry Pugh's perspective of Chapter 2 & Chapter 6 of Holiday Memories**

Mrs. Pugh's children and grandchildren were co-created by myself and Mandalicious. I own no characters from Annie.

When I came home from school today Dad smiled at me. He looked like he'd gotten some pretty good news.

"Hey champ! Grandma just called. We're going to at her house for Thanksgiving this year."

"Wow! Really.. we haven't seen Grandma in a long time."

"How true this is. The last time we saw her was at Marie's christening I think. We haven't seen you aunt and uncle in awhile either come to think of it."

"Will they be at Grandma's too?"

"Definitely."

"Didn't you say that Grandma lives in a mansion?"

"That's right! They live in New York City right on 5th Avenue."

"So do I more cousins than just Marie. It's always been me and Marie."

Dad's grin grew even wider. "Uncle Oliver and Aunt Grace have two adopted daughters named Annie and Molly who are 11 and 14 and twins.. a daughter and son who just turned 3 in September."

"What are their names?"

"Frederick and Joanne."

"This is great! I can't wait to meet them. What time are we leaving for New York?"

"Grandma says dinner starts around 3:30 so we should leave here by 12:30. I want to get there a little early to spend some time getting to know Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver."

"Sounds good. I can't wait to see Grandma."

"Neither can I."

Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver only live an hour from us so it did not take us very long to get there. I was so shocked when I saw how big the house was.

"Wow, is this really Grandma's house?"

Mom nodded. "Looks that way. Let's go inside."

We rang the bell. Grandma answered.

"Bill, it's so great to see you!"

Ma, I feel like it's been years since we've last saw each other. Harry is so big now. The last time you saw him he was three."

"I really need to see you more often. I'm sorry I haven't been keeping in touch!"

"Hi Grandma Helen." I said

"Hello my darling boy Happy Thanksgiving."

"Your house is so big."

"Isn't it though? How old are you now?"

"7."

"The children are upstairs in Annie's room. Go on up. Her room is the second door on the right."

"Okay."

Grace came into the hallway. "Welcome, you must be Billy and Phyllis. We're so happy you could come today."

Mom hugged Aunt Grace. " Thank you for having us Grace. Helen has told us so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise."

Marie came about an hour later. Annie smiled "We're so glad you two could come today. My mom has told us so much about you." Annie said to us.

"We're so happy to come over." Marie said.

Aunt Grace called us downstairs for dinner around 3:15..

We went into the dining room. I sat across from Jacob at the table. I looked shyly at him.

"Would you pass the butter please?"

Jacob smiled warmly at me. "Of course. You and Marie have no reason to be shy Harry. We're all family here."

Later that night as Mom was tucking me in to bed she asked me about my time at Grandma's

I smiled. "I had a lot of fun Mom. I didn't know I had so many cousins. Christopher is exactly my age!"

"Would you like to have Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver over on Christmas?"

I nodded. "That would be fun. Maybe we can go the beach this summer too. Margaret and Larry Bennett only live 20 minutes from us. We can all go to the beach together."

"That's a lovely idea sweetheart. I'm glad you had a fun time today at Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver's. Good night. I love you! "

"I love you too Mom."

I went to sleep that night incredibly thankful we'd gone to Grandma's house.

I highly anticipated Christmas Day. Not only because of all the gifts I would get but because my cousins would be coming over for dinner. Dad and Mom gave me a dog for Christmas I named him Rascal. He's two years old only a puppy.

Aunt Marlene Uncle Will and Marie came to our house on Christmas Eve to sleep over. Marie and I slept together in the guest bedroom.

:"Are you excited to see Aunt Grace Uncle Oliver Molly Annie Frederick and Joanne tomorrow?" Marie asked

"Definitely. I am so glad we have so many new cousins. I can't wait for the many memories we'll make with them throughout the coming years."

Marie grinned at me. "Me too. Good night Harry. We're gonna have so much fun tomorrow."

I clicked the bed side lamp off. "Good night Marie."

Aunt Grace Uncle Oliver Grandma Annie Molly Joanne and Frederick arrived at 12:30. Rascal bounded down the hall to greet them.

"Sorry, he's just excited. I hope none of you are allergic to dogs. " Dad apologized.

Grandma kissed Dad on the cheek. "Do not worry about a thing darling."

"Come on guys.. let's go play with Rascal! We want to show you the rest of ur gifts too." I said.

Joanne and Frederick hung back shyly.

Aunt Grace kissed them on the forehead. "Run along darlings. Uncle Billy and Aunt Phyllis have gifts for you under the tree. Go play with your sisters and cousins."

"Okay Mama." Joanne whispered.

Marie took them by the hand. "Come on! Let's go. We're going to have a lot of fun."

I took Rascal's leash and led my cousins down the hallway to the play room.

"Dinner will be in about an hour." Dad said.

I nodded. "Okay Dad."

Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver gave us tickets to a New York Islanders game for Chirstmas. We're going to the game the Saturday after New Years. I can't wait. It's going to be such a fun hockey game. It will be our first time going to run. This was the best Christmas ever!


	3. Invisible Dad

**Invisible Dad**

**Boys Will Be Boys Chapter 3**

Jacob Farrell's reaction to his father reappearing.

Grace's sisters and their children are Mandalicious's original characters. Jen Farrell's in laws and ex husband are my original characters. I own no Annie characters. This is Chapters 5 and 6 of **New Beginnings** from Jacob's perspective. Kathryn is 16 in this chapter and a junior in high school. Jacob is 12 in this chapter and in 8th grade.

Today Uncle Sam called Mom on the phone. I was kind of eavesdropping on the conversation. She looked very upset and Katie didn't look too happy either. I wondered if this has anything to do with my dad coming back to town. He abandoned us when I was three months old. I'm 12 now so it's been about 11 years since we heard anything from him.

Later that night as we were getting ready for bed I knocked on my sister's door.

"Come in."

I peeked my head around the door frame.

"Hey buddy. What's up?"

"Can we talk about Dad coming back?"

Katie nodded. " Sure. I think that would be a good idea. Have a seat."

Katie's eyes were red from crying. I reached out and put my arm around her.

"I hate seeing you and Mom sad Katie."

" We're not sad.. just really angry. He left us without any real explanation 11 years ago you know."

I shrugged. "It's hard for me to be angry. I was only a baby when he left us. You and Mom pretty much raised me by yourselves."

Katie squeezed me tightly "You've grown up into such a wonderful young man Jake. We're so proud of you."

"Are we going to ever see Dad again?"

Katie let out a long sigh. "He's going to be in Connecticut for Thanksgiving this year. I don't want to go and don't want anything to do with him. Mom says it couldn't hurt to see what he has to say. Thanksgiving is a time for forgiveness after all."

"Do you want to go Uncle Oliver's and Aunt Grace's?"

My sister nodded. "Mom probably won't let me go alone though. I just need to suck things up and go to Connecticut. I think things are going to be very ugly though. There were so many things left unsaid between Mom and Dad after all this time. I would hate to see them argue on Thanksgiving. "

Mom stood in the doorway and smiled at us.

"Mind if I join you?"

Katie shook her head.

Mom pulled the covers of Katie's bed back and patted the bed on either side of her.

"Come to Mama my precious darlings"

We crawled into bed next to her. Mom pulled us in on either side of her and kissed us on the forehead.

"I love you both to the moon and back you know that right?"

"Yeah Mom." I said.

"We love you too Mommy." Katie said.

"This won't be an easy storm for us to weather but we'll get through it I promise you."

Katie had tears in her eyes again. "Mama do you still think Daddy drinks? I remember how angry he used to get and how he hit you."

Mom shrugged. " I hope not. The last night he was in our house in Chicago was a horrible night."

A few days later Uncle Alex picked us up and we went to the train station at 11:45 to pick up Uncle Oliver Aunt Grace Annie Molly Mrs. Pugh Frederick and Joanne. We were having an emergency family meeting to talk about Dad coming back.

When we got back to the apartment Aunt Melissa and Chris met us at the door.

"Kids, we want to talk to your aunt and cousin in private. I'm going to take you in to the family room to watch a movie. We'll be in the study if you need us."

Annie nodded. "Okay Aunt Melissa."

Uncle Alex patted my shoulder. "Did you want to come with us too Jake? It couldn't hurt for you to talk about your feelings about the situation."

"You can do whatever you want sweetheart. " Mom said

"I guess I'll come in for a little bit and then if I want to leave I'll leave to go watch the movie."

Uncle Alex nodded. "Fair enough."

Aunt Melissa led the other kids to the family room. I followed everyone else down to the study. Aunt Melissa joined us in about three minutes and shut the door quietly behind her.

Mom sat on the couch and Katie slumped over in an easy chair.

Uncle Oliver put an arm around my shoulder. "How are you doing with all this my boy? I know you didn't really get the opportunity to know your father very well."

I shrugged. " I guess I just want to know what motivation he had for abandoning us all those years ago."

Uncle Oliver looked around at Uncle Alex, Aunt Melissa Aunt Grace and Mrs. Pugh.

"Excuse my language but he's a bastard!" Uncle Oliver shouted.

"How old were the children when you husband abandoned you? " Mrs. Pugh asked Mom.

Mom had started to cry. " Katie was five and Jake was three months old. Katie had graduated from Kindergarten that weekend and we were all together celebrating that."

Aunt Grace's face suddenly grew red as the memories of that horrible night came flooding back to her.. "That was a great weekend... until Sunday night when Willie decided to go drinking with his buddies. He and Jenny got into an altercation when he got home and it ended in him slapping Jenny." 

"I remember he said something really mean to me too and I ran from the room crying.. I don't remember what exactly he said." Katie said

"Did Sam happen to say why Willie all of a sudden decided to show his face after all this time?" Uncle Alex asked.

Mom shook her head. "No... hopefully he plans on paying back some of that child support money he owes me."

Katie muttered under her breath. "As much as I want to forgive him I still don't want to see him on Thanksgiving. I don't think it's a good idea or that he loves us."

Aunt Grace walked over to the easy chair where Katie was sitting took her hand and led her over to the couch where Mom was sitting. She motioned for me to sit down too. Once I sat down she pulled my sister and I in on either side of her.

"My darlings, your father loves you very much. You mustn't have doubts about that."

Katie's eyes were gleaming with fresh tears. "Mom told me that too. I have a hard time believing that though."

"Why is that?"

"If he really loved us he would have not left Mom alone to raise us by herself. What happened to the part to the wedding vows that goes In sickness and in health till death do us part?"

Aunt Grace took Katie's face in the palm of her hand and started to trace the tracks of her tears with her fingers.

"Kathryn Grace, that's very true. Did I ever tell you that your grandfather had some doubts about your father before he was engaged to your mother?"

Our jaws dropped in shock.

"No... we don't know too much about Grandpa Farrell. Why didn't he like Dad?" I asked.

Mom smiled through her own tears. " Well, your father wasn't exactly a person to be focused on one particular thing. He was in a band with his friends in college and sometimes the band took priority over his studies."

"So he flunked out of school?" Katie asked

"No. Surprisingly he graduated on time. I had my doubts that he would."

"What does Grandpa have to do with any of this?" Katie asked

Aunt Grace had a smug look on her face. "Unfortunately your grandfather didn't approve of your father's devil may care attitude. He thought he was a slacker and that he wasn't cut out to be a father. Sadly... he ended up being right."

"People do change don't they? Do you think it's possible that Dad has changed after all this time?" I asked

Aunt Grace shrugged. "I don't really have an answer to that question Jake. You'll have to find out for yourself on Thanksgiving."

Katie kissed Aunt Grace on the cheek softly. "We love you Aunt Grace."

Aunt Grace kissed us on the forehead and reached out and squeezed Mom's hand tightly. "I love you all so very much. Keep the faith. You'll get through this together."

"Can I be excused to go watch the movie now?"

Aunt Melissa nodded. I kissed Aunt Grace's cheek got up from the couch and left the room.

On Thanksgiving we were planning on leaving for Connecticut at 10 am. It was about a 3 hour drive. I could tell my sister was less than thrilled about going. We drove to Uncle Sam's house in silence when we got there my cousin Rachel opened the door. She's 21 and a junior in college.

"Hi Guys. We're all in the kitchen having appetizers and wine."

Mom kissed her on the cheek. You're absolutely beautiful my darling."

"Rachel we missed you last year! We can't wait to hear all about your study abroad trip." Katie said.

Rachel put her arm around my sister. " I can't wait to tell you guys about my trip. I have a lot of pictures to show you."

When we got into the kitchen we stopped dead in our tracks. Dad was leaning up against the counter.

"Hello Jennifer. It's great to see you."

" I wish the feeling was mutual." Mom said.

Dad's jaw dropped when he saw my sister. "Katie Bear... is that you?"

"The one and only." Katie muttered.

"She looks exactly like Jen. " Aunt Robin said.

His eyes turned to me. "And is this Jacob Adam?"

I nodded. Not really sure of what to say.

"You two have grown up into such fine young adults."

Aunt Robin sensed some tension between Mom and Dad. "Let's take our appetizers into the living room. Rachel has some pictures to show you from her study abroad trip,"

Dinner started about 3:30.

"So Kathryn how old are you now?" Dad asked my sister.

"16. I'll be 17 on March 5th. "

"You're starting to look at colleges then?"

Katie nodded. " Yes. That process is just starting for me. I'll starting looking at a few of my top schools in the spring."

"Have you ever considered looking at colleges in Florida?"

Katie shook her head and looked a bit uncomfortable. "No, why who's in Florida?"

"I will be in February. I am buying a condo down in Naples."

There was awkward silence.

"Willie, the kids and I just moved to Boston you can't expect them to pack everything up and move again." Mom said.

"I'm simply suggesting it Jennifer. You've raised these kids. I was stupid to leave you and miss all their milestones. I want to be there for them."

Katie stared at him smugly.. the color had drained from her face. "You really should have thought of that before you decided to leave us 11 years ago. You just left us with no reason. I'm angry at you for that. I still am."

"Why did you leave us Dad?" I asked.

" I felt I was an unfit father."

"Bullshit! If that was the reason you would have left way before Jake was born." Mom said

"There must have been another reason." Aunt Robin said.

"Nope, none that I can think of."

Katie stood up from her seat "Do you even love us?"

Dad was shocked. "Of course I do Katie Bear. I always will."

"It sure doesn't seem that way and please don't call me by a childish pet name"

Mom looked at him angrily. "Why decide to show up now? Why did you never send us any letters or child support money?"

Dad sighed. "It took me awhile to find steady work after I left you. I didn't find a job until two years ago. I've also met someone else."

" So you've been keeping this women a secret from us and cheating on Mom?" Katie had an angry look in her eyes.

Dad didn't say anything for five minutes. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Your mom was my first love sweetheart. Susan is the one I truly want to be with for the rest of my life."

"You fucking bastard! I can't believe you'd come to Thanksgiving to try to tear apart our family." Katie hollered.

"Kathryn Grace, please calm down." Aunt Robin said.

"Sorry Aunt Robin I refuse! He's completely lying if he says he loves us. I don't even want to even think about moving to Florida."

"Sweetheart I love you and your brother very much. Even though your mom is not a part of my life I want you to be part of it. We need to rebuild our relationship."

"You asshole! What kind of a role model to you think you are for us anyway?"

"Willie, my father was right about you! You're a slacker and a loser. I'm glad you've turned your life around but I wish you'd taken our relationship and your role as a father a little more seriously. I can't believe you'd come to Thanksgiving dinner practically asking me for a divorce. " Mom screamed. Tears were flowing down her cheeks.

My sister bolted from the table and disappeared upstairs.

"Oh dear. I wish we never came here today." Mom said

'It's not too late to go to Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver's.' I thought to myself.. I shot my mom a pleading look from across the table.

Rachel touched Mom's shoulder gently. "I'll go talk to Katie Aunt Jen."

"Thank you sweetheart."

Ten minutes later Rachel and Katie came back downstairs.

"Mom wants to go now. She doesn't think it's a good idea to stay because of all the arguing." I whispered to my sister.

Katie nodded and walked over to hug my uncle " We love you Uncle Sam. I'm sorry we can't stay longer."

Uncle Sam looked very sad. " I am sorry today didn't work out better for your sweetheart. How about we get together the next time we visit Rachel at school and we'll show you the campus?"

Katie smiled.. "Sounds like a plan. I can't wait!"

Once we were in the car I asked " Mom, can we got Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver's on the way home?"

Mom shook her head. "Quite frankly Jacob I just want to go home and get to bed. Today was a complete disaster. We should have really gone to Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver's in the first place."

Katie was silent the whole car ride home.

We took our left overs home with us. After we finished eating I decided to go talk to my mom. I knocked on her door.

"Come in."

"Hi Mom."

Mom smiled softly. "Hi Honey. I'm so sorry you had see that sorry display of a human being today. Now I think you can understand why he abandoned us."

I nodded. "I was only three months old when he left. That's way too young to understand anything about alcoholism."

"I'm certainly glad he's sober these days but back then he was nothing but a hooligan."

"Is he lying when he says he loves us or telling the truth?"

Mom nodded sadly. "He's telling the truth. I think it's going to take a long time for you and your sister to heal."

"When we were talking at Aunt Melissa's do you remember what I said about people changing?"

Mom nodded. "Yes I do sweetheart and you were right. He has changed. That change should not be a motivation to split up our family though. His reason for coming to dinner tonight was to take the two of you away from me."

"Are you getting a divorce?"

Mom nodded. "It looks that way."

"Would you ever consider getting joint custody?"

Mom shrugged. "I don't know. Your sister and I don't really want to have anything to do with your father anymore. Do you want to have a relationship with him?"

I shrugged "Maybe.. I mean I never really knew him to begin with. I don't want to move to Florida though."

"Jacob Adam, you and your sister mean the world to me. If I do end up getting joint custody you two will be staying right here with me for the most part and maybe go visit your father on school vacations"

"Sounds like a good plan Mom." Do you think we'll ever get that child support money from Dad?"

Mom shook her head. "That's really doubtful at most we'll probably get a good chunk of money for the divorce settlement."

"Katie was really upset earlier. Do you think she's okay?"

Mom smiled. "Why don't we go down the hall and check on her?"

I nodded "Okay."

As were leaving Mom's room Katie came out of the bathroom.

"Are you doing okay sweetheart?" Mom asked

Katie shook her head.

"Come on. Let's go back to my room."

Once we got back to my mom's room Katie threw herself down on the bed and started to cry.

"Katie don't be sad." I said.

"I hate him! I hate him so much!"

"What makes you the most upset darling?" Mom asked

"How he had the nerve to come to Uncle Sam's today and basically demand that we move to Florida with him. I don't want to move again! I don't want to be far away from you guys and the rest of our family!"

Kathryn Grace, look at me." Mom whispered.

Katie raised her head from the pillow her face was buried in.

"Baby girl, your brother and I were just talking and you know what I told him?"

Katie shook her head.

"I told him that you two are staying here with me. Your father's motivation today was to split our family in half. I would never let that happen."

"I was right though. He doesn't love us. If he did why would he want to take us away from you? All our family is here."

Mom sighed. "He loves you and Jake very much. I wish you'd stop doubting that."

"Answer my question." Katie whispered.

I interjected. "He's probably jealous because of the support system we have and wish he'd stayed in touch with us better."

Mom smiled. "That's a very good deduction Jake. I think he really regrets leaving us eleven years ago."

"Do you think if he stayed you would been able to work out your marriage?" Katie asked.

Mom shrugged. "I really don't know. Clearly he fell out of love with me. He'll always love the two of you though."

Katie looked at her "Are you sure?"

Mom nodded. " Yes darling, I'm positive. Come see Mama."

Katie climbed into her lap and Mom pulled me in on her other side.

"Do you two wish we'd gone to Uncle Oliver and Aunt Grace's today?" Mom asked

We nodded.

Mom sighed. "So do I. How about we go visit them next weekend? They have the Christmas lights up in Central Park. Maybe we can ask Uncle Oliver to invite Isabella and Eli too."

"That sounds fun Mom. We haven't seen Bella and Eli in awhile." I said.

"We love you Mommy." Katie said.

Mom smiled. "While our marriage may have been a struggle the best thing that came out of it was the two of you. You're my little blessings on Thanksgiving and every day. I love you both very much. Never forget that."

"Can we sleep with you tonight?" Katie asked.

"Of course. Go finish getting ready. I just need to call Aunt Grace really fast and tell her about today."

Fifteen minutes later we snuggled in bed on either side of Mom.

"Good night my darlings."

"Good night Mom."

With that Mom shut the light off and we all fell asleep.


	4. A Scary Day

**A Scary Day**

**Boys Will Be Boys Chapter 4 **

Frederick's viewpoint of the school shooting

This is the events of the school shooting in my recent story **Keep Your Kids Close** from Frederick's point of view. Frederick and Joanne are my original characters. They are 11 years old and in 6th grade. Their friends, friends families and teachers are also my own creation. I own no Annie characters

Today started pretty normal. My sister and I were up by 6:15 this morning and Mom took us to the bus at 6:45. It was a chilly early October morning.

"Have a good day kids. I love you." My mom said as she kissed us on the forehead.

"We love you too Mama." My sister Joanne said.

Our bus stop is the first on our route. Two stops later my best friend Casey got on. His older brother Darryl didn't look very happy.

"Don't talk to my brother. He's in a real bad mood today. He got in a fight with my mom last night." Casey warned me.

"What happened?"

"Well first off all they don't approve of the group of kids he hang out with."

"They do drugs don't they?"

Casey nodded. "Also you know how Darryl's dating Jasmine's sister?"

I nodded. Jasmine is my sister's best friend. Her sister Anna and Darryl have been dating since spring.

"My parents don't approve of that either. They think that 8th grade isn't mature enough to have a serious romantic relationship."

"Do they want them to break up?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah. Jasmine's parents agree with them too."

"Does Darryl want to break up with her?"

"I don't think so. I think Jasmine's parents might persuade Anna to break up with him because of the losers he hangs out with. Mr. and Mrs. Samuels don't want her to be involved with a crowd like that."

I nodded. "That's logical."

From that point forward it was your pretty typical Monday... until 10:15 when our principal came on over the loudspeaker.

"Attention Staff. There is a gunman loose in the school. The building is on lockdown. Please do not let your students out of the classroom until the area is secure. Thank you."

I was in Social Studies class. Casey sits behind me. He poked me in the shoulder.

"What do you think is going on?" he asked

"I have no idea. I hope we find out information soon."

We weren't able to switch classrooms to go our next class for at least an hour. At 12:30 my dad came to the school to dismiss me and my sister.

"Oh Daddy, I'm so scared!" Joanne said. Tears were running down her cheeks.

My dad picked her up. "It's alright sweetheart. I'm here now. Let's go home."

On the way home Dad had a talk with us about the shooting.

"This has been a traumatic day for you two hasn't it?"

We nodded.

"Do you guys know any details?"

"All I know is that Casey told me on the bus that Darryl was upset about a fight he got into with his mom last night. Part of the argument was about his relationship with Anna ending. He was mad about that."

When we got home Grandma Helen met us at the door. She took Joanne from my father's arms and then pulled me in to a hug tightly.

"My darlings, I am so happy you're safe. Your mother will be relieved too. Come along let's all have some lunch. I've made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

When we heard Mom's car pull into the driveway at 3:15 Joanne ran to greet her.

"Oh Mama, today was so scary."

"I know baby girl. I've been worried about you and your brother all day."

"Hi Mom." I said.

"Hi Honey. I am so glad the two of you are safe."

After dinner the phone rang. It was for my sister. Jasmine was on the other end of the phone and she sounded very upset.

When Mom noticed Joanne was upset she asked my sister to give the phone to her.

The conversation lasted about 15 minutes. When my mom hung up the phone she looked very sad.

"Kids, I think we should have a talk about the shooting."

We nodded.

Dad looked at me. "Frederick, you said that Casey's brother came to school today very angry correct?"

"Yes sir."

"Did either of you know that he was the shooter this morning?"

My sister and I looked at each other. "No." I replied. Joanne looked too shocked to say anything.

Mom knelt down in front of me. "Frederick, sweetheart did Casey tell you that his mom wanted Darryl to break up with Anna?"

I nodded. "Was Anna hurt in the shooting today?"

Mom nodded. "She was... but thankfully not very seriously. She was injured trying to protect other people in the hallway from the bullets."

"I am mad at him for hurting Anna and hurting other people." Joanne said.

Mom nodded. " You have every right to be angry sweetie. Your principal suspects that drugs may be involved but he's not completely sure yet."

"When will we know?" Joanne asked.

Dad shrugged. "The police are investigating everything related to the shooting. Hopefully we'll all have more information later on this week."

Later in the week the whole school had a big assembly about the shooting. All the grades gathered in the gym and our principal Mr. Peters was up at the podium.

"Students and Staff this week has been very rough for all of us. I thank all of you for your patience while we investigate this shooting. We do have a victim in police custody and sadly he is one of our own students. More people may be involved. I have the chief of police here to explain things more."

Mr. Peters stepped away from the podium and the chief of police took the podium. I smiled at Casey. We knew him well because he was Jasmine and Anna's Uncle Jack.

"Good Morning. I just wanted to let the school community know that this was a drug related shooting. We are still searching the 8th grade hallway for more evidence and our search hopes to be concluded by the early part of next week."

I heard one of the 8th graders yell out "Do we know who the shooter is?"

He nodded his head sadly. "Unfortunately the shooter was one of your own classmates. How many of you know Darryl Abramson?"

Several 8th graders raised their hands.. everyone who was sitting in our row turned to stare at Casey who turned red with embarrassment.

"Darryl has been suspended indefinitely. The questioning process is taking some time because he is being quite uncooperative. More suspects may be taken into custody in the coming weeks."

Mr. Peters came back to the podium "Thank you Officer Samuels. Our guidance department will be on hand the rest of the day for those of you who want to express your concerns about the shooting.

After the assembly Anna's uncle came to find us. Jasmine and Anna came up to say hi to him as well.

"Hi Uncle Jack." Anna said reaching out to give her uncle a hug.

He smiled at us. "Hi sweetheart. This has been a rough week for you and your sister hasn't it?"

Anna nodded. "Yes, it's been a rough week for the whole school but for us especially." She looked at Jasmine Joanne Casey and me.

"I'm here for all you kids if you want to talk about anything. Just tell your mom to give me a call."

"We love you Uncle Jack." Jasmine said.

"I love you girls very much. I have to get back to the station now."

We all headed back to our classrooms. In the hallway we saw two girl pointing at Casey.

"That must be the brother of the shooter. I feel so bad for him." one girl said sympathetically.

The other girl snorted "I wouldn't take too much pity on him. Darryl's a loser. He got what he saw coming to him. I hope he's in juvenile detention for awhile. He's kind of a physco."

Casey walked the rest of the way back to class with his head down.

"Don't listen to them Case." I said putting my arm around him.

Two weeks later were parent teacher conferences which were on a Monday. On Thursday Jasmine and Casey came over after school. Their parents came over for dinner at 5:00. After dinner we went into my dad's office.

"Kids, as you know parent teacher conferences were Monday night. Your teachers expressed some concern that you've been having some academic struggles due to the aftermath of the shooting. Is this true?" My dad asked,

We all nodded. Joanne and Jasmine were crying. My mom went over to where they were sitting.

"Darlings, please tell us what's wrong. We want to help."

"I don't know if anyone really understands how we feel about this." Joanne whispered.

"Yeah, it's so hard to talk about this with our friends." Jasmine agreed.

"What makes it so hard?" Mrs. Samuels asked.

" None of us understand why Darryl would shoot Anna if he claims he loved her ." Jasmine said nodding her head toward Casey and I."

"Jasmine you know how Dad and I feel about Anna and Darryl's relationship. They're too young to date." Mrs. Samuels said.

Jasmine nodded. "I know that Mama. I hate how people are making Anna so isolated. No one seems to want to talk to her because of her relationship with Darryl."

Mrs. Samuels nodded. "I know sweetheart. I feel the same way."

"Boys how do you feel about this?" Dad asked

"I shrugged. " I don't know."

"You must have some kind of emotion."

"Nope."

"How about you Case?" Mr. Abramson asked

"I've just felt so alone at school. I hate being referred to as ' The Brother of the shooter.' I wish people would stop being so mean and judgmental."

I nodded. "Yeah Darryl didn't mean to shoot Anna or any of those other people. It was an accident."

"Do you feel angry at your brother sweetheart?" Mrs. Abramson asked.

Casey nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what to think of him anymore. I used to look up to him so much."

Dad looked at Mr. Abramson. " Rich, you said your son hangs out with a rough group of kids. Is he into drugs?"

Mr. Abramson nodded. "" Yes, Oliver he is. He smokes marijuana. The police suspect that he was hiding drugs in his locker."

"How long has he been smoking?"

"Since before he started to date Anna."

Mom's jaw dropped. "" He hasn't smoked around the kids has he?"

Mrs. Abramson shook her head. "No. We don't allow him or any of his friends to smoke in the house."

"Was the shooting drug related?"

Mr. Abramson nodded. "Unfortunately it was. Anna was very heroic because she was trying to protect other people from getting to the locker the drugs were hidden in. The police later found 3 four lb bags of marijuana in one of the lockers."

"What can we do to help you?" Mom asked

"Our friends don't listen to us when we tell them how we feel about the shooting. You should talk to our teachers and tell them that they shouldn't judge Darryl or Anna without knowing the whole story."

" Darryl's been so angry lately." Casey said.

"Has he hit any of you kids? Mrs. Samuels asked

We shook our heads.

"He has hit me on a few occasions" Mrs. Abramson said.

"Has he always been violent?" Dad asked

"No. This only just started recently. We don't know what the problem is. We're thinking of taking him to a professional to get him evaluated for mental illness." Mr. Abramson said.

"I don't like knowing my sister got hurt. I hate seeing her in pain." Jasmine said.

"Come here honey." Mrs. Samuels sat down on the couch and pulled Jasmine into her lap kissing her gently on the forehead.

Dad cleared his throat.

""This has certainly been a traumatic situation for all of you but we don't want this to affect your studies. Do you understand?"

We all nodded. "Yes sir." Frederick said.

"We love all of you very much and you should never be afraid to talk to us about anything alright?" Mrs. Abramson said.

We all nodded. "Okay Mom." Casey said.

"Do you all feel better now that we had this talk?" Mom asked.

Casey nodded. "Yeah, we do. Thanks a lot Mrs. Warbucks."

After the Abramsons and the Samuels left Mom patted me on the shoulder.

"Sweetheart, let's go upstairs to my room to have a talk."

I nodded. "Okay Mom."

Once we got to her room Mom patted the bed next to her. "Come here my sweet boy."

I sat down next to her and she pulled me in tightly next to her.

"Frederick your father and I have been worried about you and how you've been dealing with the shooting."

"Why?"

"Well your sister has been pretty open with us about how she is feeling. She's been really scared to go to school every day since the shooting. You haven't really come forward to share any of your feelings with us. We're just concerned you're processing things in the wrong way."

"How would I be processing things in the wrong way?"

Mom looked at me sadly " This has been a very traumatic time for you your sister your friends and the whole school. You seem to be keeping a lot of feelings inside. We want you to know that we're here to talk about anything you want to talk about."

I sighed. "I want to be there for Joanne Jasmine and Casey but it's the hardest for me because they've been so sad. I feel like I should be the happy one and try to keep their spirits up but deep down inside I'm really sad and angry too. Just as much as they are."

Mom smiled. "You're so brave sweetheart. We love you so much for that. You also have to realize it's okay to be sad. Everyone gets sad or angry once in awhile."

I nodded.

"Come to Mama Frederick Oliver."

The tears I had been holding back for two weeks started to flow down my cheeks.

Mom gathered me in her arms and rocked me like she used to do when I was a baby.

"There there my sweet baby boy it's okay to cry." Mom kissed me on the forehead.

"I love you Mom."

"Your father and I love you so much. We're always here for you and your sister. Grandma Helen, Annie and Molly are too. Never forget that."

"Okay."

A week later one of Darryl's friends ran up and down the hallway demanding drug money from people and waving a gun. Luckily he didn't shoot anyone. It still didn't make us feel any safer.

Two days after Casey came over after school. "We should really talk to my mom about this. She'll be home at 3:15. Let's go do our homework first."

Casey nodded. "Okay."

We went up to my room to do some homework. Joanne was at Jasmine's house so we had the room to ourselves. The minute we heard Mom's car pull up in the driveway we went to meet her in the hallway.

"Hi Mrs. Warbucks." Casey said.

"Hello Casey. Did you boys have a good day at school today?:

"Not particularly." I said.

"Come on. Let's go to the kitchen and have a chat. It smells as if your grandmother is making her famous chocolate chip cookies."

"Hello boys. I just took some cookies out of the oven. Would you care to have some?" Grandma Helen smiled at us.

"Definitely Grandma! I grabbed the carton of milk from the fridge and two classes for Casey and I. We sat down at the table. Mom and Grandma Helen sat down across from us.

"What's on your mind boys?"

Casey sighed. "Has Joanne mentioned that she doesn't feel safe at school?"

Mom nodded. "Why? Do you boys feel the same way?"

We both nodded.

"How long have you been feeling this way?" Grandma Helen asked.

" Ever since Monday when one of Darryl's groupies walked up and down the hallways asking people for drug money."

Mom and Grandma Helen exchanged a worried look. "He didn't shoot anybody did he?" Grandma Helen asked,

I shook my head. "Thankfully no."

"Is Darryl still suspended?" Mom asked

Casey nodded. "Yes. He's actually out of school for the rest of the year. My mom and dad took him to a psychologist. He was diagnosed with Paranoid Schicphrenia. He's been checked into the state mental hospital in Albany."

"Oh Casey, sweetheart that must be so hard for you." Mom said.

Casey nodded. "It's harder to explain things to my little sister Megan she's only in second grade. She has no idea what's going on.

"What have you guys told her?"

"That Darryl's sick and he has to go to the hospital."

Grandma Helen and Mom exchanged another look.

"Have the police come over your house to search for drugs?"

Casey looked like was about to cry.

"Yes, Mrs. Warbucks two weekends ago, They found some bags of marijuana in Darryl's sock drawer and under his bed."

"And Jasmine said the cops came over her house too. I guess Darryl also hid drugs in Anna's room a few days after the shooting." I added.

Mom got up out of her seat walked over to Casey and squeezed his hand.

"Your families are wonderful people and they don't deserve to be going through any of this. We care about you all very deeply." Mom said.

"I hate being made the victim because my brother is in to drugs. I've been bullied for almost three weeks. I'm sick of it!" Casey said

"Have you kids ever thought about being homeschooled? When Molly had issues with her dyslexia it worked really well for her." Grandma Helen asked.

Casey and I looked at each other. "No. We never considered that before."

"Was Molly's homeschool teacher nice?" I asked Mom.

Mom smiled. "Yes, she's very nice. Her name was Ms. Wilson. I would be guessing she's married by now since it's been several years since we last worked with her.

"Would you and dad consider looking into contacting her again? I think homeschooling is something that we should look into... possibly with in the next couple weeks." I asked

Mom nodded. "Your safety and getting good grades are top priorities. I'll definitely see if your father still has Ms. Wilson's contact information."

A few weeks later I was in the hallway between classes and someone was giving Casey a hard time.

"Hey Abramson we heard you're brother's in juvenile dentention."

Casey nodded.

"How long is he gonna be there?"

I don't know."

"Your brother is a druggie and a punk. Hopefully you don't turn out to be like him. "

"Yeah he's a loser. He probably didn't even really love Anna Samuels." another guy said

I was getting mad. "Leave him alone! You don't know anything about the situation."

"What are you gonna do Warbucks? Why are you sticking up for that punk's little brother anyway?"

"He's my friend... my best friend!"

"Well Darryl's a loser. He doesn't deserve to go to this school. It's no place for loser like him."

Then he punched me.

"How are you gonna retaliate Warbucks? Are you a pussy?"

"No." I whispered.

"Prove it."

I hit him across the face.

"Fight Fight! People cheered.

Freddie you don't have do this." Casey said.

He hit me again.

I threw another punch.

Pretty soon a teacher came to split us up.

"What's going on?"

"He was making fun of Casey."

"And you decided to punch him?"

"He started it."

"Frederick this is unlike you. I am going to have to take you to the Principal's office and he'll call your parents."

Later that night Dad took me into his office.

"What happened in school today son?"

" I didn't start anything that. This kid was making fun of Casey because of stuff related to the shooting. He was making me mad and he was the instigator. I didn't even want to hit him"

"Frederick there are better ways to deal with situations than fighting."

I stared at the floor. "I know that. I'm sorry. All I was doing was sticking up for Casey. The fight wasn't my fault."

"It's okay. Just don't let your mother and I hear about anything like this happening again or you'll be grounded for two weeks."

"Okay."

A week later we had a meeting with all of our teachers.

Joanne and Jasmine's teacher turned to us. "Kids, we realize you've been struggling with the aftermath of the shooting. Can you tell us what's going on?"

"People are making fun of us and Anna and Darryl and we don't like it." Casey said"

"Do you realize that your grades have been continuing to suffer?

We nodded.

"We're sorry." Jasmine was crying.

My teacher Mrs. Abraham got pulled her into a hug. "It's alright. Please don't cry. No one is upset with you."

"We don't feel safe at school." Joanne said.

Mr. Peters looked at us. "How would you kids feel about being homeschooled?" he asked.

Joanne looked at me Jasmine and Casey. "I think that's something we should do."

Mom smiled and glanced around the table at our teachers, the principal, Dad. Mr. and Mrs. Samuels and Mr. & Mrs. Abramson. " All of us agree that we should manage your academic progress."

"When will it start and how long will it last?" Jasmine said.

"The length of this will depend on how much progress you make and your comfort level with returning to school. It will start next week."

Mr. Abramson interjected. "I think we may take Casey out of school for the rest of year. We are planning on moving in June."

"What? I don't want to move!" Casey said.

Mrs. Abramson looked sadly at him "Grandma and Grandpa suggested we should go live with them for awhile. You'll start school in the fall at Framingham Middle School."

"I'll get to come back for high school though?" Casey said

Mr. Abramson shook his head. "No Casey. We're moving to Massachusetts permanently . The aftermath of the shooting has affected you far too greatly for us to stay in this school system. It's not a good situation. Our home situation is not healthy for you and your sister either."

"How is Darryl doing?" Mr. Stevens asked.

"He's been diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. He's not returning to school for the rest of the year. When we move to Massachusetts we will home school him for all of high school. It will be likely that he won't go to college but we're not thinking that far ahead right now." Mrs. Abramson said.

"Will Anna return to school?"

Mrs. Samuels shook her head. "I'm afraid not. She's going to private school starting after Christmas. We're home schooling her until then."

"Mama am I going to private school too?" Joanne asked.

"We're seriously considering it honey."

"Mr. Warbucks is it my understanding you still have the contact information for Molly's homeschool teacher?" Mr. Stevens said.

Dad nodded. "That's correct and we've already been in touch with her. She's married now but she still lives in the area. Her married name is Robertson."

"Fantastic! Is she willing to work with your family again?"

Grace nodded. "She said she'd be willing to start on Monday."

"Does she know of any other homeschool teachers in the area?" Mrs. Abramson asked.

Grace smiled. " Valerie, the great news is she said she'd be willing to work with all four of our kids Monday through Friday from 7:45-2:15. Jasmine and Casey can come over our house the first thing on Monday morning!"

Mrs. Abramson returned Mom's smile. "That's wonderful Grace! Thank you so much!"

Our homeschool came over at 7:15 on Monday morning. After we finished breakfast Mom introduced her to us.

"Kids, this is your homeschool teacher Mrs. Robertson. She was Molly's homeschool teacher many years ago."

Mrs. Robertson smiled. "Your mom tells me that your sister is graduating college in May and that Annie is pregnant. You two must be so excited."

"We are." Joanne said.

"Are you nervous about being homeschooled?" Mrs. Robertson asked.

We nodded.

"Don't worry we'll have a lot of fun together. We'll be doing the exact same lessons your friends are learning in school so you won't fall behind on any of your studies."

We nodded.

"I understand your friends Casey and Jasmine will be joining us too."

I nodded. "They should be here in about 10 minutes."

Once Jasmine and Casey arrived we started on our academic day. The first week of homeschooling flew by in a blur. On Friday night Mom knocked on our door as we were getting ready for bed.

"How was the first week of homeschooling kids?"

"Fine Mom. Mrs. Robertson is really nice. We really like her." I said

Mom grinned. "That's good to hear. Hopefully we can easily pinpoint where you have been struggling the most so we can help you to improve in the best way possible."

"Mama are we still going to see our friends?" Joanne asked.

Mom nodded. "Of course sweetheart. You'll still be able to go to all your sports practices and after school clubs."

Jasmine's sister Anna was also meeting with a private tutor but her parents paid for a separate tutor that was separate for our homeschool teacher. It was still uncertain if Jasmine was going to go to the same private school as her sister starting in January or if she was going to wait to the fall.

The Monday before Christmas vacation Jasmine came over for our homeschool classes looking sad.

"What's the matter?" Joanne asked.

"I'm moving." she whispered.

Joanne's jaw dropped. "What? You can't move!"

"I'm going to that private school in Brooklyn my sister is going to. Classes are starting January 12th."

"Can't you at least graduate middle school with me and move to Brooklyn for high school?"

Jasmine shook her head. "My sister and I have both been bullied relentlessly since the shooting. I don't fit in there anymore."

"I'll help you stand up to those stupid bullies Jas."

Jasmine reached out and hugged my sister. "You're my best friend Jo. I'm really going to miss you a lot when I move."

My mom pulled my sister and Jasmine into a hug. "You two will definitely stay in touch. Jasmine you can always come visit us on the weekends and sleep over. You have our address and phone number too."

Jasmine smiled. "Mrs. Warbucks you're practically my second mother. I love you so much."

"We love you too sweetheart." Mom kissed Jasmine on her forehead softly.

"Come along kids. Let's start our lessons." Mrs. Robertson said.

The shooting changed our lives forever but no matter what Joanne and I will always be friends with Casey and Jasmine.


	5. The Ski Lodge

**The Ski Lodge**

Chapter 8 of Holiday Memories from Christopher Farrell's perspective

Aunt Grace just called Mom. We are going skiing during Christmas week in Lake Placid. I am kind of scared because I have never been skiing before. This is also my first time going to Lake Placid. It should be fun.

Mom tucked me into bed that night/ " Chris sweetheart are you excited about going to Lake Placid?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Mom you bet! I'm a little nervous though. I've never been skiing."

Mom patted my shoulder. " Don't worry about a thing. Uncle Oliver will show you the ropes. Dad and I can also sign you up for snowboarding lessons if you want to. "

I grinned. "That would be awesome. Can Jake and Eli do that with me too?"

"I don't see why not."

On December 15th we drove up to Lake Placid in the mid morning. It was about a 6 hour drive. I slept most of the way. Uncle Oliver and Aunt Grace met us in the parking lot to help us unload our car.

"Merry Christmas!" Uncle Oliver said leaning over to kiss Mom's cheek.

"We're so excited to be spending this week with everyone. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Uncle Oliver smiled "That's for certain."

"Happy Birthday Aunt Grace!" I said.

Aunt Grace leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Thank you sweetheart! Let's get you settled. Annie and Molly can't wait to see you."

The next day we were all up by 9am to hit the ski slopes. Molly was just as nervous as I was about learning to ski. Isabella noticed this right away.

"Don't worry you two. I'll show you the ropes. Come on! Let's head over to the bunny hill!"

Uncle Oliver smiled. "Thank you sweetheart. Your aunts uncle and I really appreciate this."

Isabella gave Uncle Oliver a hug. "No problem Uncle Oliver."

Skiing wasn't as difficult as I had feared. After lunch Jake Eli and I had a snowboarding lesson. It was a blast."

The days and nights flew by. Pretty soon it was Christmas Eve. Annie had organized a gift exchange with all our cousins. Eli and I were exchanging gifts with each other.

"Wow thanks Eli." This is really cool. Eli had given me a Boston Bruins pennant flag for my bedroom wall.

On the way home on the 26th Dad smiled at me through the rearview mirror . "Did you have a good time in Lake Placid bud?"

I nodded. "I sure did." It was a really fun vacation. I'm happy that Uncle Oliver organized it. I don't get to see my cousins as often as I like to."

"Looks like we have a new family tradition on our hands don't we?" Dad and Mom exchanged a smile.

"We sure do! I can't wait to go back to Lake Placid next Christmas!"

Mom's hand reached over the passenger side seat to squeeze mine. "Merry Christmas darling. We love you so much!"

"I love you and Dad more than anything."


	6. Moving On

**Moving On**

**Larry Bennett's reaction to Margaret's High School Graduation**

Another school year has flown by so quickly. 7th grade was awesome. I can't believe that Margaret graduated high school last week, Mom and Aunt Jen had a big party for her and Kathryn. Maggie's going to NYU next year to study early childhood education and Katie got a pre-med scholarship to BU. It's going to be so different without Maggie around the house next year. I know that I will miss her very much.

At the party I sat with Chris, Jake and Eli.

"Can you guys it's been almost four years since we all met?" Jake asked.

Eli shook his head. "No. It's crazy! Molly and Bella are graduating next year. I know you must be feeling really sad about not having Maggie around next year Larry."

I swallowed a bite of hamburger. "Yeah. It definitley won't be the same with out her at home but NYU is only an hour away. I can spend the weekend with Aunt Grace and Uncle Oliver and go visit her at school."

"Jake are you going to miss having Katie at home?" Chris asked

Jake nodded. "Yeah. Katie is one of my best friends. This transition is going to be hard for me. It won't be the same not having her at home."

"How are things going with the divorce?" I asked

Jake swallowed a mouthful of potato salad. "It's been a rough year for us that's for sure. It's been so nasty going through this divorce. My dad isn't the most cooperative person and that makes my mom very aggravated."

"Are they getting joint custody?"

Jake nodded. "Yes, but we'll mostly be staying in Cambridge with Mom. Katie wants nothing to do with Dad but I plan to visit him in Florida on school vacations. After all I didn't really know him to begin with."

"That's logical." Eli said.

My mom tapped her wine glass. "Jennifer and I would like propose a toast."

A hush fell over the back yard.

Aunt Jen looked very emotional. "Today we're here to celebrate a right of passage for our beautiful daughters Margaret and Kathryn. We couldn't be happier to be celebrating this day with our family and friends. Kathryn Grace and Margaret Elise we couldn't be more overjoyed with the wonderful women you've become. "

Mom continued. "We're grateful for how this family has grown in the past several years. Please always know that we will always be here for you girls no matter what. We love you both very much. Happy graduation."

Maggie and Kathryn got up from their seats. Katie continued the speech

"I just wanted to say that this has been the hardest year for my family with what we've been dealing with the divorce. We are so grateful for our family for the strength they've shown us. I am so blessed to be part of such a wonderful family. I love you all very much and will miss you all much when I am away at school."

Aunt Jen put down her wine glass and pulled Katie close to her. "I love you baby girl." she whispered.

"I love you the most Mommy." Katie kissed Aunt Jen's cheek softly.

That night after everyone went home there was a knock on my bedroom door. It was Maggie.

"Hey buddy did you have fun at the party today?"

I nodded and looked down at my bedspread.

"What's the matter?"

"It's just that I am going to miss you when you go to college."

Maggie sat down on the bed and put her arm around me.

"I'm not going to be too far away. NYU is an hour away. You can come visit me whenever you want to."

A tear slipped down my cheek. I seldom ever cry. "It's not going to be the same as having you home."

"I'm going to miss you Mom and Dad so much." Maggie pulled me into tightly and kissed me softly on the forehead.

Mom was standing in the doorway.

"Can I join you?" she asked

We nodded.

Mom pulled the bedspread down.

"Come to Mama my darlings."

We climbed into bed next to her curling into her side.

"What discussion was I missing?"

I sighed "I was just telling Maggie how much I was going to miss her when she's at college. Jake has similar feelings. He's going to miss Katie a lot too."

Mom nodded. "Maggie did you and Katie enjoy the party today?"

Maggie nodded. "We sure did Mom! I always enjoying seeing all our cousins. We don't really get to see the whole family together. This was the first time anyone from Uncle Oliver's side ever met anyone from Daddy's side and your side of the family."

"Would you two like to spend some time together this summer with Aunt Jen Aunt Melissa Uncle Alex Katie Chris and Jake. I think we should all spend time together before you and Katie go off to college in the fall."

Maggie smiled "That would be great Mom! In the past year I've grown so close to Isabella and Molly do you think they could come to Boston with us too."

Mom smiled. "I don't see why not. I will have to talk to Uncle Oliver and Aunt Grace and Uncle Gene and Aunt Anne to see what can be arranged. "

"Thanks to you and Aunt Jen for throwing me and Katie such a wonderful party today Mom I love you so much Mom." Maggie leaned over and kissed mom's cheek.

"We love you to the moon and back my beautiful girl. Happy Graduation!" Mom kissed Maggie's forehead.


	7. Shocking News

**Shocking News**

**Frederick's view point of Darryl Abramson's suicide**

Notes: I own rights to no Annie characters Frederick Joanne Hector and the Abramsons and Samuels are my original characters. Grace's sisters and her children are Mandalicious's original characters. Jen's boyfriend is my original character as well.

Homeschooling was a rough transition at first. I'm happy that this is only a temporary thing. I really miss all my friends at school. Jasmine and Anna moved away on January 2nd. Joanne was pretty upset. Later that night we talked about it as we were getting ready to go sleep.

"How are you doing?" I asked her.

Joanne didn't answer me right away.

"Jo?"

"Well what do you think? My best friend just moved away. At least Casey gets to finish off the school year with you."

"Don't be so nasty."

Joanne sighed. "I'm sorry Freddie I'm just really mad. I wish things didn't have to result to Jasmine having to go private school."

"Casey's moving away at the end of the year too you know. I'm going to miss him when he moves."

"It's not the same with you. We're moving to Boston soon so we can be closer to Annie once she has the baby and Casey will still live pretty close. Framingham is only 45 minutes away. Once we move Jasmine and I will be in two totally different states."

Mom stood in the doorway.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked

We shook our heads.

Mom took a seat at the edge of the bed. "Come to Mama my precious darlings."

We curled in on either side of her. Mom kissed Joanne's forehead.

"Baby girl, I know you're upset about Jasmine moving away but you have to understand that the situation she was in at school was not good for her."

"I still could have helped her stand up to those dumb bullies. Once we move to Boston I'll be even farther away from her."

Mom smiled. "Distance might be a challenge for the two of you but don't let it stand in your way. We can always go to Brooklyn on the weekends or Jasmine and Mrs. Samuels can come visit us. No matter how many new friends you make your friendship with Jasmine will always remain strong. Who knows? Her parents may end up choosing to send her to private school in Massachusetts so you guys will be closer."

Joanne's eyes brightened. "Really? Are there private high schools in Cambridge?"

"I'm sure there's many private schools in the area. Maybe she'll even move to Cambridge."

"Mom are we definitely moving to Cambridge?" I asked

Mom nodded. "Yes. Aunt Jen and Aunt Melissa are taking me apartment hunting when I go to Boston for Annie's baby shower in a couple weeks. This will be a new experience for all of us but I think it will be a welcome change. Especially given what has happened in school this year."

Joanne smiled. " I can't wait for Annie to have the baby. I'm excited to be an aunt."

"I'm equally as excited about being an uncle. It feels weird that I'm only 12 and I'm going to be an uncle." I said.

"It's very exciting for the whole family."

"Mom do you think we'll be able to go back to school?" I asked.

"That's what I came up here to talk to you two about actually."

My sister and I exchanged a look.

"Mrs. Robertson has noticed you two and Casey have made outstanding progress in the past two months. How comfortable would you guys be about returning to school at the end of the month?"

"The end of the month?" Joanne's jaw dropped.

"That's correct darling."

"That's great news Mom. We really miss all our friends at school. We can't wait to go back!" I said.

"Will Casey be going back to school too?" Joanne asked.

Mom shook her head. "Unfortunately no. Mr and Mrs. Abramson have opted to homeschool him for the rest of the year. They've hired another private tutor. You two will definitely still get to see him though."

"Are they moving to Framingham around the same time we move to Cambridge?" I asked.

Mom shook her head "They're actually moving to Framingham on Memorial Day Weekend but we'll be moving to Cambridge about 3 weeks after as soon as school gets out."

I kissed Mom's cheek. "We love you Mom."

Mom kissed my forehead and then kissed Joanne's. "You two are everything to me. Your father and I are so proud of you for much your grades have improved. We love you very much."

Annie had her baby on April 15th. His name is Victor James. Mom went down to Boston to stay at Aunt Jen's for a few days and when she came home she was bursting with excitement.

"How's Annie doing Mama?" Joanne asked.

Mom's smile was a mile wide. "There were some complications with the birth but Victor is doing a lot better now. He is the most precious thing ever."

"When can we go visit Annie?" I asked.

"She's only been home from the hospital for about three days so I think we should give her some time to relax. How about we go down next weekend?"

Joanne and I smiled. "That sounds like a good plan Mom. We can't wait to meet Victor."

After school on the following Friday we hopped on the train to Boston and arrived at Aunt Jen's apartment by 6:00pm. Aunt Jen and her new boyfriend Randy met us at the train station. They've been dating for about three months.

"Hi Aunt Jen!"

Aunt Jen bent down to kiss my forehead. "Hello darling. We're so excited to have you guys stay with us. We haven't seen you since Thanksgiving."

"Hi Randy." Joanne said smiling at my aunt's boyfriend

"It's nice to see you three. I'm looking forward to a great weekend."

" When are we going to visit Annie?" I asked.

"Tomorrow afternoon around 1. I bet you two are excited to meet your new nephew." Aunt Jen said.

I nodded. "We sure are!"

When we got back to the apartment Uncle Alex Aunt Melissa Chris and Jake were waiting for us.

Aunt Melissa hugged Mom as she walked through the door. " I just hung up with Annie. She's bringing over the baby in about half an hour."

"Hooray! Now we don't have to wait until tomorrow to meet him." Joanne said.

"Should we wait for them to eat so we can all eat together?" Jake asked.

Aunt Jen nodded. "Set three extra places sweetheart."

Uncle Alex smiled at us. "Are you two excited about moving here in a few months?"

Joanne nodded. "You bet Uncle Alex! I can't wait to be closer to you guys and Annie and the baby. It will be good to be together as a whole family."

"Aren't you going to miss your friends though?" Chris asked.

"Sure we will, but we're going to make a ton of new friends once we get settled in at the middle school." I said.

Mom squeezed my shoulder. "I couldn't have said that any better sweetheart."

Annie and Hector came about 25 minutes later with Victor in tow.

"Freddie, Jo meet your new nephew." Annie said

We leaned over the car seat and looked in.

"Were we that tiny when we were little?" Joanne asked

Annie smiled. "I remember the day you two were born like it was yesterday. You were just as small as Victor is now."

"He was really sick when he was born?" I asked.

Hector nodded. "Yes. I think through out his life he will definitely have some health problems but we're ready for anything. Right sweetheart? "

Annie kissed Hector's cheek softly. "You betcha."

"Come on everyone let's eat. I just took the fish out of the oven." Aunt Jen said.

As soon as school got out we moved down to Cambridge. Molly and Isabella were moving to Massachusetts too. They were getting jobs in Allston and Brighton. They came over to help us set up our new rooms."

"Freddie have you talked to Casey at all since you've been here?" Isabella asked

I shook my head. "Once we get settled we're going to have his family over for dinner. I can't wait to see Casey again. Things have been so busy with moving that I never got to see him before he left Queens."

"You two must be pretty excited about starting your new school." Isabella said,

I nodded. " I think we're both a little nervous to be honest. Is that normal?"

Molly smiled. "Perfectly. When we first moved to Queens I was pretty nervous about starting at a new school. Luckily I knew all of Isabella's friends really well before school started.. that helped ease the transition a little bit."

Joanne was sitting on the floor helping me unpack a box of clothes. She had not said anything.

"Are you alright Jo?" Molly asked

Joanne sighed. "No, not really. I really miss Jasmine a lot. It's even harder now that we live farther away. What if she forgets about me?"

Molly put her arm around my sister. "That would never happen. You and Jasmine have been friends for a long time. I don't think she'd forget about you just because you go to school in different states."

"Are you sure?"

Molly kissed her forehead. "Absolutely positive. You have her address at school and at home. Why don't you write her a letter? Maybe you can see if she can come visit this summer. How about you me Bella and I do a special girls weekend and she can come with us too?"

Joanne's face brightened. "That would be fun. I always look so forward to those special girls only outings that we used to do with Annie. Calling her might be easier than writing her a letter though."

"We can go to Boston to go out to lunch and shopping how does that sound?"

Joanne smiled at my sister. "Great! Thanks Mol! I love you!""

"I love you too Jo."

School started on September 8th. Molly and Isabella ended up being right. Joanne and I had no trouble at all making new friends. We got involved in activities right away. I decided to join the travel basketball league instead of playing soccer for a change of pace. Joanne joined the intermural soocer team in the school newspaper. Jasmine would be coming down to visit for our birthday party at the end of the month. Joanne couldn't wait to introduce her to our new friends.

On the Tuesday before our birthday party Mom came to the dinner table looking really upset.

"Mama, why are you sad?" Joanne asked.

"Kids we're having a guest stay with us this weekend."

Joanne and I still couldn't figure out why our mother was so sad. "Who is it?"

"Casey's sister Megan."

"Casey's not coming over too? I asked.

Mom shook her head. "No sweetheart. "

"Why not?"

Mom exchanged a look with Grandma Helen.

"Frederick, Joanne Casey's brother Darryl is not with us any longer." Grandma Helen said.

"What?" We both said,

Mom choked back a sob and Dad rubbed her hands up and down her back.

"Darryl committed suicide early this morning. A jogger found his body hanging by a tree branch at 8:30 am."

Dad cleared his throat. "Megan is staying over on Friday night while her parents and Casey go shopping for stuff they need to buy for the wake and funeral services."

"Why would Darryl do something like that? All his parents were trying to do was helping him to get better."

'My sweet boy... there was so much tension in that household since the shooting last year. I think he just couldn't handle all the emotions he was feeling." Grandma Helen said.

"That sounds really selfish to me. Did he not realize how many people cared about him?" Joanne asked.

Dad sighed. "I'm sure he did darling. I think on top of his paranoid schizophrenia he was also depressed about issues related to the shooting. He wasn't forthcoming about admitting he was depressed. If he had been he could have been treated for that. That probably would have saved his life."

"Did he feel really bad for hurting all those people?" I asked

Mom nodded. "Mrs. Abramson said there was a note on his bed that simply read "I'm sorry for causing everyone so much pain. I love you."

"When are the services?"

"The wake is Monday night from 6-8 and the funeral is Tuesday at 9am. You two will go to school late that day." Mom said.

We nodded.

"I can't believe this happened." Joanne said

Mom squeezed her hand under the table. " None of us can my darling girl."

Tuesday morning we were up at 7:45 to get ready to go to Darryl's services. Mr. and Mrs. Samuels Anna and Jasmine had come in from New York the night before and were staying at Casey's house. When we got to the church Mom reached out and hugged Mrs. Samuels. "How are you all holding up?"

"As good as we can given the circumstances. I think the girls are still in shock." Mrs. Samuels said.

Mom pulled Anna and Jasmine in a hug and kissed each of them on the forehead. "Hello darlings."

"Hi Mrs. Warbucks. " Anna whispered.

"We love you." Jasmine said.

"We love you all too sweetheart. We'll all get through this rough spot together." Mom said.

The usher led us to our seats. We were sitting in the same pew as the Abramsons. I sat next to Casey.

"Hey Freddie."

I put my arm around him. "I'm really sorry about Darryl Case."

"It's going to be even harder to get used to him not being here. It's just surreal. You know what I mean? I didn't expect him to kill himself. I wanted to help him get better as much as I could."

Megan was sitting on Mrs. Abramson's lap. Her head was nuzzled deep into her shoulder. She was crying. Mrs. Abramson looked like she hadn't slept well in several days.

Mr. Abramson got up to speak at the microphone.

"This has been a rough year for our family and this adds extra hurt to our lives. Today we are here to reflect on Darryl's short life and the impact it had on us all. We'd like to thank our family and friends especially Grace and Oliver Warbucks and Erica and Tim Samuels for all the support they have shown us in the past year. We couldn't be more grateful for your support. We love you all very much."

The funeral service lasted for about an hour. Afterwards we went to Casey's house for a little while before going back to school. Anna reached into her purse for a tissue. "I can't believe Darryl's gone. I'm going to miss him a lot."

Joanne reached out to hug Anna. "This is a shock to all of us I think. Despite the fact Darryl was nasty to us sometimes I am going to miss him."

Anna put her arm around Joanne and Jasmine and pulled them into a hug. "Always remember that I'm here for you guys. The same thing for you and Casey Freddie."

I nodded. "We love you Anna."

"I love you all too."

Mom came over to us, "Okay kids. We're going to take you back to school now. Say your goodbyes."

Anna pulled us all into a hug. "We'll see you guys soon. Mom said we're going to all go out to dinner for your birthday next weekend. There are a lot of nice restaurants on the campus of our private school in Brooklyn. It will be our treat."

Joanne smiled. "Sounds great. Molly also said that you and Jas can come visit us some weekend and we'll go shopping or to the movies."

Jasmine smiled. "That sounds so much fun. We can't wait to see your new house and see Molly and Isabella again."


End file.
